This invention generally pertains to articles of furniture. More specifically, the present invention relates to a collapsible and portable furniture item made from preformed blanks of sheet material or the like.
The invention is particularly applicable to a self-supporting chair structure made from preformed blanks of corrugated sheet material which can be easily and quickly assembled to produce a chair of sturdy yet inexpensive construction. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention has broader applications and may also be adapted for use in other furniture items, such as stools, tables, benches and the like, as well as other structures, such as display bins, holders, containers, or similar items.
It is known in the prior art to fabricate chairs or other furniture items from one or more blanks of cardboard material. Such chairs in various structural forms and in various designs have been made for use as toys, for childrens' furniture, as well as for adult use. Because the cost of such a chair is so low, it may be disposed of after only a brief period of use.
While many different chair designs and similar structures have been suggested in the past, none of these has met with general acceptance or marketing success. One reason for this may be due, at least in part, to the relative complexity of prior art structures and to the difficulty in their set up or assembly at the point of use. Also, most conventional sheet material chairs are not sturdy enough to safely seat a full grown or a heavy person.
Moreover, most of the conventional cardboard chairs are not collapsible into a flat state both for initial transport or shipping to minimize costs and for refolding after use. Such portable collapsible chairs would be particularly advantageous for use at sporting events, such as golf tournaments, outdoor band concerts, air shows, and so on where conventional seating is not normally available. Sturdy yet inexpensive seating of the type mentioned would also be useful on camping trips, beach outings and the like.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved collapsible chair made of sheet material which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.